A Name's Bond
by Zelas Metalium
Summary: Ritsuka realizes that the bond between him and Soubi is weaker than it could be. He also discovers that he might be the cause. He decides that he wants to try and make their bond stronger, but how can he do that when they don't even share a name?


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** I do not own Loveless.**

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****A Name's Bond**

"I declare a battle by word spell."

"We accept! We are Soulless! We have no souls to way down our conscience!" Ritsuka didn't like the sound of that.

"Soubi?" Ritsuka asked cautiously.

"Don't worry, I'll protect you." Soubi pulled Ritsuka towards him and kissed him. Ritsuka's face reddened as he fought Soubi off.

"Knock it off, Soubi!" Soubi released him as their opponents began to attack.

"Those plagued by guilt soaked souls, hear the cries of those you've wronged!" the fighter shouted. A horrible shriek split the night air. Ritsuka clapped his hands over his ears in an attempt to block it out.

"Soubi! Do something!" Ritsuka shouted. Soubi nodded.

"Without souls, there can be no life. Darkness that resides within, consume!" the Soulless sacrifice yelped as he was engulfed in a strange black substance. Ritsuka stared horrifies.

"Soubi! What did you do?! You're going to kill him!" Slowly the darkness dissipated and the sacrifice fell to the ground, completely limp.

"Aki!" His fighter shouted as she ran to his side. The battle was over.

------

The next day, Ritsuka walked home alone. He went straight to his room and lay down on his bed. He took out the cell phone that Soubi had given him. He stared at the small screen for a long time before closing it with a sigh.

"Soubi…"

Feeling restless, Ritsuka went out into the cold evening air. The sun was slowly sinking down into the horizon. Ritsuka knew that he shouldn't be out right now, but he wanted to get out for a while. He walked to the park and sat down beneath a large tree. He was so wrapped up in his subconscious that he didn't hear the Soulless fighter unit approach him.

"Aoyagi Ritsuka…can we talk?" Ritsuka looked up at her and nodded. She sat down beside him on the moist grass. "My name is Nae." She looked at Ritsuka's profile as though she were studying him. It made Ritsuka feel very uncomfortable. Finally he felt like he needed to break the silence.

"How's your sacrifice…Aki-san, right?"

"Yes…he's fine; resting at the moment."

"That's good…" Again silence fell between them.

"Why do you fight him so?" She finally asked. The question caught Ritsuka off guard.

"What?" He turned to look at her.

"Agatsuma-san…why do you fight him? In the battle yesterday, you seemed to be fighting him as much, if not more so, than us."

"I…" Ritsuka looked to the ground as though it would somehow be able to give him the answer. Ritsuka did fight Soubi…Why? Seeing his hesitation, Nae took a different approach.

"Have you ever wondered why you have different names?"

"Because he was my brother's fighter unit."

"Yes, but in order for him to serve you effectively as _your_ fighter, then it would be very useful to share a name. Some say that he may not be your real fighter…what do you think?"

What did he think? He was still so new to this world of fighters and sacrifices…

"I don't know…"

"Maybe you just don't want to know." Ritsuka looked into her eyes, trying to decipher what she meant. "But you're constantly at war with him… you won't let him get close to you like a fighter unit should. You see, the bond between fighter and sacrifice should be unbreakable. The two should think and act as one. That is why they share a name."

Ritsuka wasn't sure where she was going with this. Was she saying that Soubi wasn't his real fighter? Or that maybe he wasn't because Ritsuka was keeping him from becoming his true fighter…

Nae continued. "However, your bond with Agatsuma-san… its there, but it's weak… Are you so afraid to let him in?"

Ritsuka didn't know. His feelings toward Soubi had always been confusing. Soubi would say that he loved him, but how could that be true? He constantly lied to him and did things without telling him. As a result, part of him wanted to be around Soubi, and the other part just wanted him to go away.

"Are you saying that I should just do anything that Soubi wants? Let him take my ears?"

Nae laughed. "Of course not! You don't need to do anything as extreme as that! Just…I don't know… I just get the feeling that you resist him because you're not use to people showing you affection. Is that true?" Ritsuka's face reddened slightly. "I'm sorry… that's none of my business! And remember, Soubi serves _you_, not the other way around. Nothing would make him happier than for you to give him orders and to stop resisting."

"If I stop fighting him… are you saying that our bond will be stronger?"

"It certainly is possible… no, more like probable. You two are a unique team… Agatsuma-san has always been a strong fighter, but right now he's being held back."

"By me?" Nae fell silent. She didn't want to make Ritsuka feel bad, she just wanted to help. "What do I need to do?" Ritsuka asked quietly. "How do I make myself trust him?"

"Don't _make_ yourself do anything. The bond between a fighter and his sacrifice is natural. They naturally feel themselves drawn together."

"Sometimes I find myself missing him…but I don't want to see him."

"That's dear. You're afraid to let him get too close to you, and that fear is trying to quash the feelings that your bond produces." Nae smiled. "Well, I think it's time to head back before it gets too late. See you, Loveless." Nae stood and left with a smile wave.

Ritsuka sat there a while longer thinking about what she had said. Finally he agreed that she was right, and went home.

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Once again Soubi found himself battling alone, with the same results. He was weak and injured, although not as badly as in the past. The scar around his neck, the one that bore his name, was bleeding very badly. He had retied the bandage around it, but the blood had soaked through. He knew that he needed medical attention but he didn't want it. All he wanted right at that moment was to see Ritsuka.

_He's going to be angry with me again…_Soubi thought, but he didn't care.

Finally he reached Ritsuka's house and struggled to climb through the window.

"Soubi!" Ritsuka shouted as he saw the injured Soubi. He went to help through the window and leaned him against the wall below it. "What happened?! Did you fight alone _again_?!"

"Ritsuka…" Ritsuka stopped his ranting as he looked at the weakened fighter unit.

"Tell me what happened." He said, gently this time, with a sigh. Soubi smiled.

"Hm…are you worried about me?"

"I'm worried that you're going to get yourself killed!"

"Does that mean that you would miss me if I were to die?" Ritsuka's face turned slightly pink.

"If our bond were stronger…would I be able to tell if you're in trouble?" Ritsuka asked quietly, dropping his eyes down to the floor. Soubi looked at him with slight confusion, finding the question a bit odd.

"Yes…we would be connected, which means that you could call for me and I would sense that you needed me… and it would work the other way too."

"Someone told me that I was fighting you… I wasn't meaning to but… it was making our bond weak…"

"Ritsuka…" Soubi started, but Ritsuka stopped him.

"I want our bond to be stronger…so I can keep you from ending up like this again!" They sat in silence for a minute until Ritsuka stood and headed for the door. "Hold on, I'll go get the first aid kit." A few minute later he returned, first aid kit in hand. Slowly he started to clean Soubi's wounds/

"Were they zeros?" Ritsuka asked.

"Yes, that's why I didn't want to call for you. They're dangerous."

"That's no excuse! You should have called me." Soubi smiled again.

"I will next time, ok?" Ritsuka smiled.

"Good!" Soubi sat up straighter against the wall and peered into Ritsuka's eyes. He pulled Ritsuka towards him and kissed him. At first Ritsuka tried to pull back but then he remembered what Nae had said. He needed to stop fighting him. Soubi looked at him intently.

Ritsuka hung his head and spoke softly. "I do like it when you're around… I guess I was fighting with myself as much as I was fighting you. I don't hate you or want you to go away…"

"Well, I'm glad…" Soubi was happy that Ritsuka finally accepted him as his fighter and was trying to strengthen their bond. Does that mean that you love me, Ritsuka?" Soubi asked with glee.

Ritsuka glared at him. "Don't push it, Soubi!" Soubi laughed.

"I was joking… I don't expect you to…not yet anyway… Maybe someday…" Ritsuka looked away again. How _did_ he feel about Soubi? It was hard to tell…part of him still wanted to keep Soubi at a distance, but if he took away that part…

Ritsuka's eyes drifted to Soubi's still bloody neck.

"Here, we need to get all of that blood off." Soubi sat calmly as Ritsuka washed away the blood revealing the scar underneath, but something wasn't right. Instead of looking like a fresh wound to have caused so much blood like it should have, the name 'Beloved' looked old and faded. He could barely see it at all. "Soubi…"  
Soubi saw the strange look on Ritsuka's face. "What's wrong?"

"Your name… it's faded…. I can barely see it!"

"Is that so? Maybe that means out bond is growing stronger…"

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A week later, Ritsuka ran into the zero team that Soubi had fought.

"Why, if it isn't little Loveless… What are you doing letting your fighter unit battle alone?"

"He did it without my knowledge." Ritsuka replied coldly.

"That's pretty pathetic… no wonder they don't have the sane name; they're not connected!"

Ritsuka stood his ground although he was slightly nervous. He had never faced a zero team alone. And they were ruthless.

_Soubi…where are you? If only they would give me a chance to get my cell phone to call him…but I doubt that they would let me… zeros aren't in to playing fair…_

"They can't even sense when the other is in danger! So if we were to kill you now… Soubi would have no idea…"

"I wouldn't be so sure of that." Soubi came to stand beside Ritsuka.

"Soubi!" Soubi turned to smile at Ritsuka.

"I heard you call for me…"

"You heard… wait, that means…"

"We are connected…" Soubi leaned down to kiss Ritsuka,

He then turned to face the zero team, and removed the bandage around his neck. The zeros gasped.

"That's…" One of them muttered.

"But how…?" The other one asked in shock. Ritsuka looked to Soubi in confusion and gasped as well. The name 'Beloved' has disappeared completely…in its place was the name 'Loveless.'

"Loveless… but that's…" Ritsuka said as he stared at it.

"We are now connected; we share the same name." Soubi raised his hand and gently stroked the side of Ritsuka's neck. Ritsuka raised his own hand to meet Soubi's. Soubi guided Ritsuka's fingers to trace over what felt like thin cuts.

"You mean… I have one too, now?" Soubi nodded. Ritsuka smiled.

"Good. Now you can't go off and fight on your own anymore."

"That's right." Soubi turned back to face the still shocked zeros. "Well, do you wish to battle?"

The two turned to look at each other. Finally one spoke.

"We had better check in with Nagisa-sensei before we do anything…"

"Yeah, she'll want to hear about this. We'll be ready next time!" With that last clichéd remark, the two zeros ran away.

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That night Ritsuka stared at his reflection, continuously tracing over the name 'Loveless' that was carved on the side of his neck. It was very small; small enough that he might never have noticed it if Soubi hadn't showed him… but it was there.

Ritsuka smiled. Now, they had a strong bond. They were fully connected like a fighter and sacrifice should be. Slowly he turned from the mirror.

_Thanks Nae… for helping me to control my fears…_ He smiled and crawled into his bed.

Slowly Ritsuka, the one known as Loveless, sank into a peaceful world of dreams where everyone shared a name with someone; and the one who shared his was Soubi…


End file.
